The Jeffrey Silver Humanism in Healthcare Research Roundup features summaries of recently published studies on humanism in healthcare. To receive email notification of new studies once per month, enter your information here and select “Jeffrey Silver Research Roundup” from the checkboxes at the bottom. See previous posts in this series.
Publications from Gold Foundation-Affiliated Authors
Culture and nonverbal expressions of empathy in clinical settings: A systematic review
Lorié Á, Reinero DA, Phillips M, Zhang L, Riess H. Patient Educ Couns. 2016 Sep 25. pii: S0738-3991(16)30446-3.
This paper was supported by a Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Research Institute.
Researchers systematically review 16 peer-reviewed experimental or observational articles examining how culture mediates nonverbal expressions of empathy. Findings revealed the impact of nonverbal communication on patient satisfaction, affective tone, information exchange, visit length, and expression decoding during cross-cultural clinical encounters. They concluded that nonverbal communication plays a significant role in fostering trusting provider-patient relationships, and is critical to high quality care.
Comparative effectiveness of a patient centered pathology report for bladder cancer care
Mossanen M, Macleod LC, Chu A, Wright JL, Dalkin B, Lin DW, True L, Gore JL. J Urol. 2016 Nov;196(5):1383-1389.
Dr. Mossanen is a Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together grant recipient.
Patients have unprecedented access to their medical records. However, many documents, such as pathology reports, may be beyond the health literacy of most patients. Researchers compared the effectiveness of bladder biopsy patient centered pathology reports with standard reports. Patients with the patient centered pathology report had improved ability to identify cancer stage compared to those with the standard report.
Exploring the premise of lost altruism: Content analysis of two codes of ethics
Haddara W, Lingard L. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2016 Sep 26.
Dr. Lingard is a Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together grant recipient.
Researchers examined constructions of altruism over a defined period of time through a content analysis of the Canadian and Australian Medical Associations Codes of Ethics. They coded statements in which the interest of the patient is placed ahead of the physician’s and statements in which the interest of the physician is given primacy. They identified 13 altruistic and 2 non-altruistic statements across all editions with a gradual and uneven loss of altruistic content over time. The most recent versions of both Codes contain only 1 altruistic statement and both non-altruistic statements.
The Gold-Hope Tang, MD 2016 Humanism in Medicine Essay Contest: Third Place: Hand-in-hand
Verma N. Acad Med. 2016 Oct;91(10):1372-3.
Neha was the third place winner of the Gold-Hope Tang, MD 2016 Humanism in Medicine Essay Contest
“My role as a doula requires me to throw my head and my heart into my job quite fully, and as a first-year medical student, I aspire to a career as a physician that involves a similar degree of mental and emotional investment….”
From emotional tsunami to empathy
Doupnik SK. JAMA Pediatr. 2016 Oct 1;170(10):931.
Dr. Doupnik is a Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together grant recipient.
“Usually bright and engaging, my patient was quiet at this visit. He looked exhausted. “What’s going on?” I asked. “Something seems different today.” Haltingly, he recounted a story about a fight with his friends and a sense of despair…”
Other Publications
Effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention on oncology nurses’ burnout and compassion fatigue symptoms: A non-randomized study
Duarte J, Pinto-Gouveia J. Int J Nurs Stud. 2016 Oct 8;64:98-107.
The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of an on-site, abbreviated mindfulness-based intervention for nurses 94, using a nonrandomized, wait-list comparison design. Results indicated that nurses in the intervention reported significant decreases in compassion fatigue, burnout, stress, experiential avoidance, and increases in satisfaction with life, mindfulness and self-compassion, with medium to large effect sizes. Nurses in the comparison group didn’t present significant changes in these variables.
A qualitative study of the experiences and factors that led physicians to be lifelong health advocates
Law M, Leung P, Veinot P, Miller D, Mylopoulos M. Acad Med. 2016 Oct;91(10):1392-1397.
Researchers interviewed 15 established physician health advocates, using a broad definition of health advocacy–that it extends beyond individual patient advocacy to address the root causes of systemic differences in health. Participants described the factors that contributed to the development of their health advocate identity (i.e., exposure to social injustice, upbringing, schooling, specific formative experiences) and those that facilitated their engagement in health advocacy work (i.e., mentors, training, systemic and organizational supports). They also highlighted how they continue in their role as lifelong advocates (i.e., continuous learning and improvement, self-reflection and self-reflexivity, collaboration, intrinsic satisfaction in the work).
Worklife and wellness in academic general internal medicine: Results from a national survey
Linzer M, Poplau S, Babbott S, Collins T, Guzman-Corrales L, Menk J, Murphy ML, Ovington K. J Gen Intern Med. 2016 Sep;31(9):1004-10.
Researchers aimed to assess the worklife of academic general internists and determine remediable predictors of stress and burnout. Of the 1200+ clinicians surveyed, high stress was present in 67%, with 38% burned out. Burnout was associated with high stress, low work control, and low values alignment with leaders (all p < 0.001). Key themes from the qualitative analysis were short visits, insufficient support staff, a Relative Value Unit mentality, documentation time pressure, and undervaluing education.
